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March 9, 2012
1
Arkansas TAG Members’ Minority Report to OWRB
Executive Summary
As required in the 2003 Statement of Joint Principles and Actions, in concert with an EPA grant, as well as Oklahoma’s review of the Oklahoma Water Quality Standards (“OWQS”), staff of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (“OWRB”) convened an interstate/tribal/EPA technical advisory group (“TAG”). The TAG’s objective was to re-evaluate, by 2012, the 0.037 mg/L total phosphorus (“TP”) criterion assigned to Oklahoma’s six Scenic Rivers. This review process involved state agency staff from Oklahoma and Arkansas representing WQS staff, point and non-point source control staff, US EPA Region 6 staff, and the Cherokee Nation. During 2011, over 200 technical publications were reviewed. Although the reports reviewed provide useful information, they do not substantiate that 0.037 mg/L TP is the necessary or appropriate criterion to protect Oklahoma’s Scenic Rivers. Based on a review of these studies, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Arkansas TAG members”) believe there is a significant lack of data specific to the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers and the Oklahoma portion of the Illinois River, in particular. Accordingly, the Arkansas TAG members developed the following four recommendations that we believe should be completed prior to making a final decision on the implementation of 0.037 mg/L or any other numeric standard as Oklahoma’s TP criterion.
Arkansas TAG Members’ Recommendations
1. Implementation of the 0.037 mg/L total phosphorus standard should be extended for a minimum of 10 years to enable completion of the following specific tasks:
a. Completion of stressor-response studies on the Illinois River to provide a scientific basis to determine the appropriate numeric standard for the river. The study should use U.S. EPA recommended stressor-response methods including but not limited to Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for the purpose of evaluating the relationship between phosphorus concentrations and biotic indicators of water quality, including but not limited to periphyton biomass and fish and invertebrate indices of biotic integrity. (Allow 5 years).
b. Completion of EPA’s Illinois River Watershed Model, which is currently in progress. (Allow 2 years).
c. Completion of additional monitoring and time to allow the effects of “legacy phosphorus” to work through the system before additional significant capital investments are made to further reduce phosphorus. (Allow 10 years).
d. Although Oklahoma’s assessment methodology allows a 25% exceedance frequency over a rolling 90-day period, an exceedance frequency is not explicitly included in the TP criterion, creating an inconsistency between the criterion and the assessment methodology. Review of data on reference streams (i.e., streams with little or no human disturbance) in Arkansas and Oklahoma shows

March 9, 2012
1
Arkansas TAG Members’ Minority Report to OWRB
Executive Summary
As required in the 2003 Statement of Joint Principles and Actions, in concert with an EPA grant, as well as Oklahoma’s review of the Oklahoma Water Quality Standards (“OWQS”), staff of the Oklahoma Water Resources Board (“OWRB”) convened an interstate/tribal/EPA technical advisory group (“TAG”). The TAG’s objective was to re-evaluate, by 2012, the 0.037 mg/L total phosphorus (“TP”) criterion assigned to Oklahoma’s six Scenic Rivers. This review process involved state agency staff from Oklahoma and Arkansas representing WQS staff, point and non-point source control staff, US EPA Region 6 staff, and the Cherokee Nation. During 2011, over 200 technical publications were reviewed. Although the reports reviewed provide useful information, they do not substantiate that 0.037 mg/L TP is the necessary or appropriate criterion to protect Oklahoma’s Scenic Rivers. Based on a review of these studies, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality and the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “Arkansas TAG members”) believe there is a significant lack of data specific to the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers and the Oklahoma portion of the Illinois River, in particular. Accordingly, the Arkansas TAG members developed the following four recommendations that we believe should be completed prior to making a final decision on the implementation of 0.037 mg/L or any other numeric standard as Oklahoma’s TP criterion.
Arkansas TAG Members’ Recommendations
1. Implementation of the 0.037 mg/L total phosphorus standard should be extended for a minimum of 10 years to enable completion of the following specific tasks:
a. Completion of stressor-response studies on the Illinois River to provide a scientific basis to determine the appropriate numeric standard for the river. The study should use U.S. EPA recommended stressor-response methods including but not limited to Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for the purpose of evaluating the relationship between phosphorus concentrations and biotic indicators of water quality, including but not limited to periphyton biomass and fish and invertebrate indices of biotic integrity. (Allow 5 years).
b. Completion of EPA’s Illinois River Watershed Model, which is currently in progress. (Allow 2 years).
c. Completion of additional monitoring and time to allow the effects of “legacy phosphorus” to work through the system before additional significant capital investments are made to further reduce phosphorus. (Allow 10 years).
d. Although Oklahoma’s assessment methodology allows a 25% exceedance frequency over a rolling 90-day period, an exceedance frequency is not explicitly included in the TP criterion, creating an inconsistency between the criterion and the assessment methodology. Review of data on reference streams (i.e., streams with little or no human disturbance) in Arkansas and Oklahoma shows